Reality Check Dissects the Voice and X Factor Finales! Plus: How to Make 'Em Better Shows

The X Factor and The Voice have concluded their respective Season 2 and Season 3 installments, and with the celebratory confetti swept up and carried off to a Los Angeles-area landfill, it seems like the right time to do a post-mortem on how the reality singing competitions’ final results played out.

In this week’s Reality Check, my cohost Melinda Doolittle and I examine how The X Factor‘s Tate Stevens lost the battle of the Top 3 performance finale, but still managed to win the war. (Hint: An unfortunate duet between his arch rival and an embattled country diva probably helped his chances.) We also talk about what the show’s producers should try to change for Season 3 — and yes, we get more specific than “Burn it to the ground and start from scratch!”

Melinda and I also take a deep dive into The Voice‘s Season 3 outcome: How Cassadee Pope turned the performance finale into a victory lap; why the two-hour results show was infinitely more enjoyable than The X Factor‘s; and how Adam Levine’s particular style of coaching should serve as a template for incoming panelists Usher and Shakira.